Wonderland, Hyeres

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“The world, as depicted by Jaap Scheeren, is not ruled by order nor by logic. He shows us the dormant underworld beneath the varnish of everyday reality. Jaap skims through the day’s papers taking notes of unusual facts, ridiculous titbits, derisory accomplishments and disconcerting discoveries made as if to pass unnoticed in the printed columns. Did you know that “the left ear is more sensible to sweet talk than the right one”, that “on almost all Italian banknotes traces of cocaine can be detected”, that “a mountain in China has been painted green”, that “a man behind a barbecue feels more sexy” and that “someone who sweats is less stressful than someone who doesn’t´? From such starting points Jaap will then build up the photographic image. Jaap followed that very protocol for his Hyères photography commission. He reached and compiled, devised elaborate mise-en-scènes, schemed pipe dreams of every sort. Only then he arrived to Hyères . He walked down to the beach and met Robert, who lives nearby. Robert agreed to meet him the following day, with his canoe and his home-made mask of palm-tree bark. He then crossed paths with Michel, who suggests to dress with his colored suit, for a better chromatic harmony. And it happens to be the day of the carnival: in the schoolyard, a big wolf is surrounded by children. Jaap heads back to the Villa Noailles. The road is lined with plants that seem to explode. He lifts his eyes: some UFOs hover placidly over the hill. In between these strange manifestations, Jaap will take the time to inflate balloons, to bask under a studio light box, to listen attentively to the city’s confession of eccentricity. He will not even feel the need to execute his carefully schemed plans.” — Raphaelle Stopin